Whistler's Mother (Arrested Development episode)

Infobox Arrested Development episode
episode_name = Whistler's Mother
episode_no = 1AJD19
airdate = April 4, 2004
writer = John Levenstein & Jim Vallely
director = Paul Feig
on_the_next = “Michael finds having his mother on the board problematic, Lindsay finds her true calling, and Oscar comes a-courtin'.” | guest_star = Amy Poehler as Wife of G.O.B. Dave "Gruber" Allen as activist Peter Jason as Mr. Jordan


season = 1

"Whistler's Mother" is the twentieth episode of the TV comedy series "Arrested Development".

ynopsis

Michael was preparing for a meeting with board to determine what to do with some recently unfrozen funds. Lindsay approaches him and asks for some, stating that she wants to have an affair and needs the money for a stylist, since Tobias is completely uninterested in her attempts to have sex with him. Michael refuses to give her any, saying the money is to buy land for the company. Michael suggests that she take up charity again, which she says she would do but actually goes to get her hair done. Michael then receives a call from Lucille, who text messages him about "a matter of land."

Upon arriving at Lucille's apartment, he realizes she made a typo and meant "a matter of life and death," and the matter of life and death was that she needed money for Buster's operation to fix his clicking jaw, a trivial matter. Michael accuses her of coddling him. Lucille reminds Michael about the time that he was suspended when another boy cheated off his test and how she took care of the situation by making his Algebra teacher disappear.

Meanwhile, George Michael spots a man that looks just like George Sr. except with hair. He passes this information on to Maeby and about how George Sr. wanted George Michael's hair in their last encounter in "Visiting Ours". She doesn't believe him.

George Sr. then calls Michael, telling him that his twin brother, Oscar is in town, and asks him to give him some money. Michael refuses, since there is a board member, Mr. Jordan, that is trying to catch him doing something illegal so he can blow the whistle. Michael can't buy him off the board because he is asking for twice the stock value. Michael deals with this situation by handing whistles out to all the board members, telling them that they should all be whistle-blowers. However, this does not end well, as the meeting was halted when the board members could not refrain from blowing on the whistles. Michael collects the whistles back. Tobias then confronts Michael about getting some company money when G.O.B walks in and asks for money as well. Michael suggests that they come up with a business idea to make money themselves.

During Maeby's shift at the banana stand, she spots the same man who looked like George Sr. with hair (and we now know to be Oscar). Meanwhile, Lindsay finds out that her stylist is being called to serve in the Iraq War. She decides to protest the war. Michael then runs in to G.O.B. and Tobias at a coffee shop. They tell Michael that they're researching their investment, and Michael offers them money if they write up a proposal. Michael then meets his uncle Oscar, who asks him for money as well. Michael decides to buy Oscar's abundant land off of him, not knowing that he could not build on it since the government had an easement on it, which he finds out from George Sr.

Maeby then tells George Michael about her sighting of George Sr. with hair. Maeby thinks that George Sr. may need their help to escape, and they decide to visit prison to check if George Sr. is still there. Michael then comes home and tries to contact Oscar, who is out "pursuing his lady love," Lucille. G.O.B. and Tobias approach Michael with their investment idea ("Gobias Industries"). Michael, embarrassed about his poor investment, tells them that George Sr. made a bad deal and that the money was tied up. He convinces them not to confront George Sr. about it, as he hasn't hold him yet.

Lindsay joins a group of protesters and is hustled into a free speech zone. They are unable to get media attention because the media is confined in a "free press zone." Meanwhile, Maeby and George Michael visit George Sr. in the prison. They're disappointed to see that George Sr. is actually in prison. They mention the lemon grove purchase that Tobias said George Sr. made. Meanwhile, Michael is in a board meeting. He tells the board that his father made a bad deal. Mr. Jordan points out that it is illegal for George Sr. to conduct business from jail. George Sr. then calls to confront Michael about the land deal he made.

Lindsay's group of protesters gets attention of some local residents, who hose them down. All the protesters except Lindsay run off. Lindsay starts to shout "no hair for oil," which causes the locals to play music to drown out her yelling. She then decides to dance, which the locals enjoy, boosting her self-esteem.

Michael visits his mother about his problems with the board and his bad investment. Lucille assuages Michael's fears and goes out to "take care" of the situation. She goes out to Oscar's trailer in the lemon grove and makes him buy his land back, which he gladly did for her since he is attracted to her. She then uses the money she got back from the lemon grove to buy out Mr. Jordan from the board and puts herself on it instead, solving the Bluth Company's problems but creating a minor problem for Michael: having his mother on the board of investors.

Episode notes

*This is Oscar's first appearance.
*Buster never appears in this episode (it is explained that he is getting surgery in Canada).

References

*"All You Need Is Smiles" - Could be a reference to "All You Need Is Love" by The Beatles
*"Bad Girls" - The song Lindsay dances to while being hosed down is Donna Summer's "Bad Girls". It's also the song she plays to try to attract Tobias.
*"David Cassidy" – Oscar claims to have written the David Cassidy song “All You Need Is Smiles,” which he was supposed to sing on the "The Mike Douglas Show". He plays a recording of it when he comes to "court" Lucille.
*"Free speech zone" - Lindsay is put in a "free speech zone", a cage, during her protest. The free speech zone is placed in a remote location, which occurred in Pittsburgh on Labor Day in 2002
*War In Iraq: Lindsay's stylist is called to the war. When Lindsay announces her intent to protest the war, Maeby tells Lindsay that she already told her about it but that Lindsay said it happened ten years ago, confusing it with the first Gulf War.
*The title of the episode is a reference to the painting of the same name by James McNeill Whistler.

Foreshadowing

*G.O.B. says that "People love to carbo-load," possibly foreshadowing the upcoming episode "Let 'Em Eat Cake", in which the Bluth family goes on the Atkins diet. The line could also be an ironic reference to the new fad of low-carb diets at G.O.B.'s expense.
*Oscar is Buster's father" Oscar greets Michael by surprise with a shoulder rub and stating "Hey, nephew" much like Buster does to others, stating their name or relationship.
*In a flashback, Lucille comforts Michael, stating that she will "have a little chat with Mr. Vandenbosch." Mr. Vandenbosch disappears the following day. In "Development Arrested", Michael discovers that Lucille was the criminal mastermind behind all the crimes committed by the Bluth Company, along with the deportation of Annyong's grandfather, the original creator of the frozen banana.

Character cameos

*Amy Poehler makes her last appearance in Season 1 as Wife of G.O.B. - she would not return again until a small cameo role in Season 2's "Motherboy XXX".
*Charlie Hartsock as Ted, an employee who Lindsay would later try to flirt with at the Bluth Company Christmas party.
*Jeffrey Tambor becomes the first actor on "Arrested Development" to have played two different roles here, starring as George Sr.'s brother, Oscar Bluth. Although he was mentioned in "Missing Kitty", this was his first appearance in the show. He would later appear again in the following episode "Not Without My Daughter", and would become a main character in Season 2.

Episode notes

*Buster never appears in this episode (it is explained that he is getting surgery in Canada).

External links

* [http://the-op.com/episode/120 The-OP.com]
*imdb title|0515258|Whistler's Mother